Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Stock Price Down 6.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) shares were down 6.5% on Friday after TD Securities lowered their price target on the stock from $7.00 to $6.50. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Hecla Mining traded as low as $5.36 and last traded at $5.27. Approximately 3,002,101 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 17,111,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.63.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on HL. National Bank Financial lowered Hecla Mining from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 148.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 14,915 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $404,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Hecla Mining in the fourth quarter worth about $1,547,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Hecla Mining by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,578,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,752,000 after purchasing an additional 127,756 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 106.54 and a beta of 1.91.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $249.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Hecla Mining’s payout ratio is currently 100.02%.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and doré containing silver and gold.